A HOME IN NICARAGUA! 



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Copy 1 



^J^ H E 



KINNEY EXPEDITION. 



B^ €\muttx anir "^mpm, 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE LANDS PliOPOSED TO BE SEHLED, 



SUGGESTIONS TO PERSONS DESIROUS OF EMIGRATING. 



W. C. BRYANT & CO., PRINTERS, 41 NASSAU ST., COR. LIBERTY 



1855. 



An association of gentlemen, under the name and style of the " Nicavaguan 
Land and Mining Company," has been formed in this city, for the purpose of 
colonizing certain lands in the State of Nicaragua. The title of these lands is 
perfect. They are supposed to be the richest in mineral resources of any upon 
the continent. Their geographical position near the Great Lake of Nicaragua, 
equi-distant from California and the Atlantic States, and with extraordinary facih- 
ties for forwarding to those markets the productions of the soil, together with the 
salubrity of the climate, the immense agricultural capabilities of the valleys and 
table lands, the extensive tracts of rich and valuable timber, and the abundance 
of tropical fruit and game — all of which will be found more particvilarly alluded 
to'^in the subjoined articles, — combine to render this country a very desirable one 
for immigration and settlement. 

The association offers to all persons taking passage for this country within 
the next three months, for the purpose of becoming actual settlers, from one hun- 
dred and sixty to six hundred and forty acres of land, according to location, and 
a town lot. Those persons going out with the first expedition will have an 
opportunity of purchasing stock at very favorable rates. 

The splendid first-class fast-saihng steamship Ukiteu Statks has been fitted 
at great expense to convey Colonel Kinney and his friends to Central America. 
She will be dispatched in a few days, and it is desirable that all parties who in- 
tend to take advantage of this opportunity should secm-e their tickets at once. 
The rates of passage are §80 for after-saloons. $60 forward saloons and |40 
steerage. 

Each person going out should provide himself with an outfit for at least 
three months. Besides his ordinary clothing he should, jif possible, have an 
Lidia rubber suit, flannel shirts, long miner's boots, etc., and it will be well for 
each party of five or six pei-sons to take with them a tent with water-proof cover- 
ing, some domestic, agricultural and mining implements, and the ordinary 
weapons for sporting and defence required in the exploration and settlement of 
new countries. 

All further information may be had at the office of the agents, Messrs. 
Pedrajas & Co., 36 Beaver st., where plans of the ship may be seen and tickets 
secured. 



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[From the Boston Daily Advertiser, April 25.] 

THE KINNEY EXPEDITION. 



The name of Colouel H. L. Kinney has been so much before the public during the last 
four or five months, in connection with those contradictory stories that the admirable 
invention of the telegraph serves so well to propagate, that the public may be pardoned if 
it has become somewhat confused and uncertain ^nth regard to his plans, wbicli nevertheless 
are of a nature to excite a deep interest among our enterprizing people. Having recentlj' 
had an opportunity to acquire authentic information by personal interviews with Colonel 
Kinnev and several of his associates, we propose to inform our readers briefly of the naturf? 
of the undertaking upon which he is about to embark, as we understand it. 
■^" Everybody knows, or ought to know, that " Central America," which is the convenient 
designation of the country forming the southern extremity of North America, — lying below 
Mexico and above the Isthmus — consists of five small States, independent Republics, viz., 
Guatemala, Sau Salvador, Honduras, JSTicaragua, and Costa Rica. They are not connected 
by any federation, and are generally not upon the best of terms with eacli other. The 
most southerly of these States is Costa Rica ; next north of wliich, and lying chiefly on the 
western or Pacific si J'e of the continent, but with a sea-coast upon both oceans, in the State 
of Nicai'agua, with which all that we have to say is concerned. Nicaragua has an area of 
about fifty thousand square miles, which is seven times the extent of our own State of 
Massachusetts; and upon these fifty tliousand miles lives a population of about a quarter 
of a million, or a fourth part of the population of Massachusetts — so that the population 
might be increased to thirty times the present r.umbei' before the State would become fis 
densely settled as Massachusetts, which, in comparison with the old world, is not crowded 
with inhabitants. Tliere is thus abundant room for new settlers. 

The country is rich in agricultm-al and mineral resources, as appears distinctlj^ by tlie 
oflicial statement which we copy in another pai't of this morning's paper. Tlie climate 
especially of the highlands, is believed to be pleasant and healthy. 

Such is Nicaragua as made by nature ; but, from political and social causes, the count r v 
has sunk to a low condition, and its trade at present is very inconsider.able. The European 
settlers have vastly diminished in numbers and degenerated in spirit. Of the 250,000 in- 
habitants in the country, only 20,000 (less than one-tenth) are pure whites; 15,000 are 
negroes, 80,000 are Indians, and 130,000, or more than one-half, are of mixed races. The] 
eai-th no longer yields to the agriculturist and the miner her former ample supplies, lie-' 
cause the peo]:)le are too lazy to give even the labor necessary to secm-e the return. 

Mr. J. W. Fabens, known in this vicinity as a member of Harvard College, of the class 
of 1842, and known to the country at large as the Commei-cial Agei^of the United States | 
for several years at b'an Juan, which is the Atlantic seaport of the Siate of Nicaragua, ha.s ' 
obtained, during his residence in the country, by grants from the government and by pin- 
chases from individuals, seven hundred thousand acres of lands lying upon the slopes of t! it' 
highlands, adjoining Lake Nicaragua, besides other tracts, measured by square iniles else- 
where in the State. His title to this land, as we understand, is perfect and indisputable. 
Mr. Fabens is associated with Col. Kinney in his enterprize, together with several other 
gentlemen of acknowledged honor, among whom, we understand, is Fletcher 'W'^ebster, Es(j., 
of this city. 

These gentlemen have formed a company, under the name of the " Nicaragua Land and 
Mining Company," and propose to settle their own lands with colonists from the ITniteil 
States. The au'air is a business enterprize, and is in no sense a political adventure. Those 
gentlemen have no intention of overturnins or interfering with the existing government 
of Nicaragua, nor have they any ambition to make tliemselves by an armed invasion I'ul- 
ers of a State which has a less white poj>ulation than many New England towns, and 
which has a standing debt of half a nullion dollars, increased at the rate of $50,000 a yeai- 
by the annual deficiency in the revenue. Sncli a scheme would be scarcely worth consid- 
ering. But they regard the State as affording an opening for honest enterprise, of which 
they may fairly take advantage, conformably to the laws. They and the colonists wlm 
go out under their ausj)ices will rigidly respect the laws of Nicaragua, and those who 
settle in the country will become Nicaraguans. They will not seek to subvert the insti- 
tutions of the State, but simply to gather in a fruitful field Die harvest whicli the preseiif 
population is too idle to sow. much lcss1urea[). They will disposers nobody : they will 



occupy no lands except those acquired by fair purchasp or lawful grant; and will injure 
in no way the happiness or the business of the present inhabitants. 

The plans of the company extend to various kinds of business. They expect to get 
out gold and silver in considerable quantities. We have seen rich specimens of both 
these precious metals as obtained from the original ore by the rude processes of the na- 
tives, which admit of great ampliiieation and impro\'emeut. They will carry on sugar, 
colfee, cocoa, and indigo jihrntatioas — raise cattle, and trade in hides — have their own 
steamlwats and other vessels plying upon the lake, and to Atlantic and Eui-opean ports 
— and in general, they will engage in any kind of traffic which promises a remunerative 
return for the capital and laljor invested. 

Colonel Kiniu-y expects to sail from New York with the first party of settlers, in the 
steamship United States, on an early day of next month. Four or five hundred men have 
already engaged their passages. We believe they are pi'omised on their arrival one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of lands and a town lot, for each, and are guarantied employment by 
the company for the first two or three months at fair wages. Such terms as these can- 
not fail to command enterprizing men who seek to make their own fortunes by some more 
rapid rate than the common ways. It is not likely that all their expectations will be 
realized ; but the yn'cjmise certainly is not without substantial foundation. 

It is impossible for the most superficial observer to avoid pursuing in his mind what 
may be the effect on the future history of the State of Nicaragua, whose rich endowments 
of nature unha)i]>ily have hitherto been so little improved by man, of this influx of a large 
body of industrious Anglo-Saxon settlers, determined to turn all the resources of the 
country to good advantage. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that such an addition 
to the population, by the paxt vrhich they themselves may legitimately take as Nicaragu- 
ans in the conduct of affairs and by the moral influence of their example tipon others, 
will sooner or later exercise a considerable control in shaping the institutions of the re- 
public, and what is more important, the adnuuistration of the governmernt under those 
institutions. It is easy to see in what direction this control is likely to be directed. But 
we are positively asstired that Col. Kinney and his associates entertain no intention nor 
desire of using force to aid any influence they maj- acquire in the State, nor wiU they 
make any effort to subvert the exir^ting government. Like industrious citizens everywhere, 
their influence is likely to be a conservative element in maintaining any peaceable and 
quiet administration ; and we are informed that there is good reason to believe that the 
present rulers of Nicaragua, so far from regarding the approach of the party with jeal- 
ousy, are pleased withtheu* plans, and will welcome theii' arrival, and|)robably aid them 
in carrjnug out tlieir designs. 

This view is confirmed on the whole by a note trom Mr. Marcoleta, the Minister of 
Nicaragua to the United States, which was published on Saturday last. Mr. Marcoleta 
does not profess to write under especial instructions from his government, nor does he 
deny the validity of Mr. Fabens's title to his lands. He professes, however, to entertain 
apprehensions that the object of the company is "trouble to public order, and, if they can, 
to overthrow the government in Nicaragua." " Such ai-e"' (he says) " my convictions and 
my belief." " So far from giving my approbation to these projects, I condemn and de- 
nounce tliem, in my official capacity, before the good sense of the American people." If 
the projects really were such as the Minister says he apprehends, his denunciation would 
be natural and pro j(r : but we are assured on the word of honorable men that they en- 
tertain no such plans ; and moreover, as we have said, that the government of Nicaragua 
is disposed to welcome their coming. It is also obvious that Nicaragua, in its present im- 
poverished state, afibrds a much more promisuig field for an honest business enterprize 
than for a scene of lawless plunder. 

Colonel Kinney is a man well qualified to lead in such an enterprize. Physically, he is 
a perfect man. He has the powers of endurance of an Indian, and all the experience in 
rough and adventurous life of the soldier and the frontier pioneer. He was one of the 
earliest inhabitants of what is now the poptdous and thri\'ing city of Chicago, and took an 
active part in the settlement of that portion of Illinois. He aftei-wards migrated to Texas, 
and led in the settlement of the portion of that State between the Nueces and Rio Grande. 
He still has a fine seat near Corpus Christi. Although thus comfortably and substantially 
located, he thirsts for new fields of enterprize, and has turned his attention to Central 
America. The plans of the '" Central American Company" first engaged his attention. 
This was an organization professing to hold lands by a grant from the Mosquito King. The 
title was defective, and Colonel Kinney has now no connection with that company. His 
whole exertions will be in behalf of the "Nicaragua Land and Mining Company," whose 
lands are held by an unexceptionable title, and whose plans are such as we have been 
describing. 

\V e need not say that we have no sympathy with " filibusterism" in any of its forms ; 
uor can we assent to the atrocious doctrines first committed officially to paper in the re- 
port of the three ministers of the Ostend conference. But the most rigid public moralist 
can scarcely frown on an enterprize of the character which we aie assured belongs to the 
present " Kinney Expedition." 



[Frofii the National Intelligencer.^ 

AGKICULTUKAL EESOITRCES OF NICARAGUA. 



In an official document, transmitted to the House of Representatives on the 12th of 
Julv 1860, we find an interesting account of the agricultural resources of jSlcaragua 
Av-hich we give below. In connection with the proposed xinierican colonization of a por- 
tion of that country, these statistics will be found valuable. 

I have already said that the natural resources of Nicaragua are immense but they 
have been very imperfectly developed. The portion of lands brousht under cultivation is 
very small, but ample for the support of its population. There is no difficulty in increa«ino- 
the amount to an indefimte extent, for the forests are easily removed, and o-enial nature 
needs no forcing to return rich harvests. There are many' cattle estates, particularly in 
Chontales. Matagalpa, and Segovia, which cover wide tracts of country, some of these not 
less than ten or fifteen thousand head of cattle each. The cattle are generally fine auite 
equal to those in the United States. . > i 

Among the staples of the State, and which are produced in great perfection I may 
mention sugar, cotton, coffee, cocoa, indigo, tobacco, rice, and maze or Indian corn! 

ASM^rar.— The description of sugar-cane used in Nicaragua, is a native of the country 
and very different from the Asiatic cane rtiltivated in the West Indies and the United 
States ; it is said to be equally productive with the foreign species ; the canes are slenderer 
and .softer, and contam more and stronger juice, in proportion to their size than the 
Asiatic variety. Two crops are talien annually, and the cane does not require replanting- 
but once m-twelve or fourteen years. The best kind of sugar produced from the sugar 
_ estates is nearly as white as the refined sugar of commerce, the crystals beincr laro-e and 
hard.- A large part of the supply for ordinary consumption is what is called " chaScaca " 
and is the juice of the cane merely boiled till it crystallizes, without beincr cleaned of the 
molasses. A quantity of this is exported to Peru, and elsewhere in South America It 
is stated that the "chancaca" may be produced ready for sale at .^1 25 per quintal (lOU 
lbs. English..) The most profitable part of the sugar establishment is the manufacture of 
;' agua ardiente,' a species of rum. It is impossible to say, in the absence of data what 
IS the amount of manufacture of sugar at Nicaragua ; it is'perhaps enouo-h to know that it 
may be produced indefinitely. 

The export has been estimated at 200,000 lbs. 

Cotton.- Goiion of a superior quality to that of Brazil may be produced in any quan- 
tity m >.iearagua. ^- As many as 50,000 bales, of 300 pounds each," says Dunlap " of 
clean and pressed cotton have been exported from this State in a single vear • the cuitiva- 
tiou IS, however, at present (1846) at a very low ebb." Considerable quantities are never- 
theless raised, which are manufactured by the natives, but chiefly by the Indians into 
hanimocks sail cloth, and ordinaiy clothing. Tlie domestic cloth is coarse, but compact 
neat and durable. ^ " 

Co/fee.— Coffee of a suj -erior quality, and probably equal to any in the world may be 
produced mdefinitely in this Republic; but for some reasons it is not very extensively 
cultivated. The plantations which I have seen are very flourishing, and the proprietors 
find them quite as profitable as any other. The limited cultivation is perhaps due to the 
circumstance that chocolate is the common beverage of the people, and coffee never 
having become an article of trade or export, has consequently been neglected There is 
no reason why as good coffee sliould not be produced here as in Costa Rica • and the Costa 
Rica coffee, ^hen offered in good condition in England, commands a higher' price than any 
other. As, however it is usually shipped by way of Cape Horn, it often suffers from the 
protracted voyage. It has, nevertheless, been the almost exclusive source of wealth in 
Costa Rica.. The crop of ISlT amounted to 8,(00,000 pounds, which, at $12 50 per cwt 
(the average price m the English market,) gives $1,000,000 as the returns— a considerable 
sum for a btate of less than 100,U00 inhabitants, and where the culture has been mtro- 
duced but fourteen years. The cost of production per quintal (101^ pounds) at the present 
rate of wages (25 cents per daj;) is about $2 50. If the attention of the peooie of Nicara- 
gua was seriously directed to the production of coffee, it would prove a giW profit 

C-ocoa.— Cocoa, only equalled by that of Soconosco, on the coast of Gautemala (and 
which was once monopolized for tlie use of the royal establishment of Spain,) is cultivated 
m considerable quantities. It is, liowever, an article of general consumption amon<^ the 
inhabitants; and, consequently, commands so high a price that it would not bear expor- 
tation even thou,gh it could be obtained in requisite quantities. About all that finds its 
way abroad goes in thte form of presents from one friend to the other. There is no reason 
why this should not become an article of large trade, and a source of oi-eat wealth There 



IB one cause why its production is not greater, and that is tlie length of time and great out- 
lay required in getting a cocoa plantation in paying operation. Few have now the requi- 
site capital to invest ; and these few are in too feverish a state, in consequence of the dis- 
tracted condition of public affairs, to venture upon any investment. Under a stable con- 
dition of things, and by the opening of a short and easy clianvielto market, the cultivation 
of cocoa will Vise to be of the first iraportaiiee. Tlie trees give two principal crops in the 
year. It is sold for $15 to $20 the quintal, while the Guayaquil is worth but $5 or $6. 

Indigo. — Indigo was formerly cultivated to a considerable extent, but has, of late years, 
much fallen off; and there are a number of tine indiiio estates in various parts of the re- 
public which have been quite given up, with all their appurtenances, by their respective 
projn'ietors. The plant cultivated for the manufacture of indigo is the indigo-fera, a tri- 
ennial plant, supposed te be a native of America. Tliere is also an indigenous triennial 
plant abounding in many parts of Central America, which produces indigo of a very ex- 
cellent quality, but gives less than half the weight which is produced by the cultivated 
species. The indigo of Nicaragua is of a verj- superior quality, and its export once came 
up to 4000 bales of 150 pounds each. It is impossible to say what the export is at pres- 
ent ; probably not more than 1000 er liOOO bales. Under the government of Spain, the 
State of San Salvador produced from K,000 to 10,000 bales annually. A piece of ground 
equal to two acres generally produces about 100 or 120 pounds, at a cost of not far from 
thirty to forty dollars, including clearing of the field, and all other expenses. 

tobacco.— K large amount of tubacco is used in Nicaragua, ;dl of which is produced in 
the country. 

A considerable quantity was, this year, .shipped to California, it may be cultivated lo 
any desirable extent, and of a very superior quality. Tlial of San Salvadoi' is said to be 
equal to the best Havana for cigars. 

Maize flourishes luxuriantly, and three crops may be raised on the same ground an- 
nually. It is essentially the "staff of life" in all Central America, being the material of 
which the eternal totilla is composed. The green stalks, "sacate," constitute about the 
only fodder for horses and cattle in the country, and is supphed daily in all the principal 
towns. ITie abundance of this grain may be inferred from the fact that a Fanega of Leon 
(equivalent to about five bushels of English,) of shelled poi'n commands in the capital but 
75 cents. 

Wheat, and all other cereal grains, as well as the fruits of temperate climates, flourish in 
the elevated districts of Segovia, in the northernpart of the republic bordering upon Hon- 
duras ; here, it is said, except in the absence of snow, little dift'erenee is to be observed, 
in respect to climate, from the central parts of the United States. 

Rice is abundant in Nicaragua, is exten.sively used, and, like maize, may be easily cultiva- 
ted to any extent desirable. It sold from $1 50 to ^2 per cwt. 

In shoVt, all the edibles and fruits of the tropics are produced naturally, or may be 
cultivated in great perfection. Plantains, bananas, beans, chile, tomatoes, bread fruit, 
arrow-root, okro, citrons, oranges, limes, lemons, pine apples, (the delicious white Gu.aya- 
quil) as well as the yellow variety, mamays, anonas, guavas, coooanuts, and a lumdred 
other varieties of plants and fruits. Among the vegetable productions of commerce may 
be mentioned sarsaparilla, anots, aloes, ipecacuanha, ginger, vanilla, Peruvian bark 
(quinine), coubage, copal, gum arable, capevi, caoutchouc, dragon's blocxl, and vanglo or oil 
plant. Among valuable trees, mahogany, logwood. Brazil-wood, liguumvitre, fustic, 
yellow Sanders, pine, (on the heights,) dragon's blood tree, silk cotton tree, oak copal tree, 
cedar, button wood, iron wood, rose wood, Nicaragua wood, calebask, Ac, <fec. "Of these," 
says Dindap, "Brazil wood, cedar, and mahogany, ai-e found in the forests in what may 
be termed inexhaustible (juantities." Tlie cedar is a large tree like the red cedar of the 
north in nothing except color and durability, and in S(didity and other respects closely 
resembling the black walnut. Five or six cargoes of Brazil wood are exported from Realejo 
yearly, and something more from San Juan. A quantity nf cedar plank is also exported 
to South America. 

The raising of cattle and tlie production of cheese is a most important item in the 
actual resources of Nicaragua. 

The cheese is for common consumption, and great quanties are used. Large droves of 
cattle are annuallj' sent to the other states, where the^- command very fair prices. Aboul 
thirty -five ov forty thousand hides are also exported annually. 

MI.NEKA], nES0lH;ei:>. 

'I'he iiiineiai risnurces of Nicaragua are also iinuien.-^e : gold, silver, copper, lead and 
iron may be found in considerable quantities in various parts, but more particularly in 
Segovia, which district is pi-obably not exceeded in its mineral wealth by any equal portion 
of the continent. The working of the mines has, '^f course, vastly fallen off from the thne 
of the Spaniards ; still their produce is considerable, but it is impossible to obtain any 
satisfactory statistics concerning it. A portion of the gold and silver finds its way througb 
Isabel to the Belize; other portion.s pass out through the ports of Tnixillo and Omoa, in 



7 

Honduras ; and another but smaller part reaches the ports of Nicai-agua. There is no 
mint in Central America, excepting a small one in Costa Rica, which coins from $50,000 
to $100,000 annually, principally in dollar pieces of gold. These are short of \reight, and 
are not generally current. Their true value is niuety-three cents. Humboldt, in his state- 
ment of the produce of the respective mining districts of America, has put against that of 
Guatemala " nothing ;" but it is certain, from the accounts of Gage and others, as also of 
the buccaneers, who made a number of profitable expeditions to the mining districts, that 
tlie precious medals were early produced in considerable abundance. From a report by 
the master of the gold mint, made in 1825, it appears that for fifteen years anterior to 
1810, gold and silver had been coined to the amount of $2,193,832, and for the fifteen 
years posterior to that date to the amount of $3,810,382. This officer remarks, " that it 
ninst not be deducted from hence that this is all our mines liave produced in this period, as 
great quantities of the metal have been manufactured and exported in their native state." 
He estimates the actual products of the mines at ten times the amount coined ; which 
would give upwards of $50,000,000 for the thirty years preceding 1825. This estimate 
will probably bear some deduction. 

Other minerals are abundant. Sulphur may be obtained in great quantities, crude 
and nearly pure, from the volcanoes ; and nitre is easily procured, as also sulphate of 
iron. 

Coal, as elsewhere stated, is said to occur in large beds and of good quality, in the State 
of San Salvador, near the boundaries of Honduras, and only twenty njiles back from the 
coast of the gulf of Fonseca. 



From the New York Evening Post, April 27. 

COL. KINNEY'S EXPEDITION— WHEKE IT ly GOING 
AND WHAT IT WILL DO. 



The steamship United States has been chartered to sail in May next with a party of 
perhaps five hundred colonists, under the guidance of Col. Kinney, to the port of San Juan. 
After a passage probably of about eight days, and a voyage of forty-eight hours ride up 
the river San Juan, the adventurers will find themselves among the luxuriant forests and 
grassy plains which bound the northeastern shores of Lake Nicaragua. 

According to the statements Avhich we derive from Mr. Fabens, the United States 
Consul at San Juan, the " Nicaragua Land and Mining Company" have a valid title to 
nearly a million acres of land, principally in the mountainous district of Chontales, border- 
ing on the large and beautiful lake of Nicaragua. Some of these lands have been pur- 
chased from the government and tlie church of Nicai'agua, both of which, by reason of the 
incessant wars to which they are parties, frequently feel the want of ready money, and 
are consequently willing to sell their possessions cheap. The title to others rests in certain 
wealthy land-ownei's connected with the company, wlio are desirous of inviting settlers to 
tlieir vicinity. Within the domains of the company is the fine island known as St. George's 
Ivey, at the mouth of Great River, where the most extensive mahogany tracts, and where 
the sarsaparilla, the India rubber, and the ebo, from the fruit of v/liich a valuable oil is 
extracted, are found in great abundance. 

Among the valuable woods in the main land district of Chontales are mahogany, rose- 
wood, satin wood, black cedar, Brazilletto, and the costly dye-wood known in commerce as 
the Lima or Nicaragua wood. In some localities the ceiba or wild cotton tree flourishes, 
growing in a few years to such a size that a dozen men can hardly embrace it with their 
arms. Three crops of corn are easily obtained yearly, and tropical fruits of assorts exist 
in profusion. Chontales is famous as as a grazing country, having the best pasture lands 
in Central America. The traveller never loses sight of herds of cattle, with troops of wild 
<leer frolicking on their skirts. Other game, such as wild turkey, quail and woodcock, are 
also pleutifid, and the mountain streams furnish trout f)f a delicate flavor. 

Besides these, there exist mines of gold, silver, coal and oiher minerals, of Avhich pro- 
mising specimens have been exhibited in this citj-. When these sources of wealth are once 
fairly opened and developed., we may look forward to another California in this now ne- 
glected and thinly peopled region. 

The climate of Chontales, we are told, is delightful, the temperature on the mountains 
l:)eing cool and invigorating, while upon the plains, where the thermometer ranges from 
64 to 78 degrees, owing to the refreshing breegp from the great lake of Nicaragua, it is 
never oppressively hot. Such is the testimony of Squier, who says of Nicaragua that " its 



cliamate is so favorably modified by a variety of causes a? to be rendered not only agree- 
able, but quite as salubrious as that of any equal extent of country under the tropics " 

That such a country affords a desirable field for energetic and thrifty colonists, cannot 
he doubted ; and it -was with the view of attracting such men that the late President Cho- 
morro, shortly before his death, sent a letter by Mr. Fabens offering inducements to Ame- 
ricans to emigrate to Nicaragua, and engage in the cultivation of coffee, by the diligent 
attention to which the neighboring State of Costa Rica (Rich Coast.) so-called originally 
in derision for its poverty, had in ten years become well-entitled to its name. A similar 
attention to the development of its resources, with a similar exemption from cItU commo- 
tions, might be attended with like results in Nicaragua. 

We should be glad to hope that Col. Kinneys expedition may co-operate in this work 
of regenerating Nicaragua. To many minds it will derive a certain interest from the pecu- 
liar antecedents of its leader, its possible results upon the destiny of our own government, 
and from the fact that it is the first attempt at colonizing the interior of Central AmericS 
made by representatives of the Anglo-Saxon stock. 

More than three centuries ago, another expedition was made by men of a different race, 
which gave a distinctive character to the institutions and the subsequent history of this 
portion of the continent. Cortez, having established the Spanish dominion in Mexico, had 
heard of nations further south still unsubdued, and in a letter to his master, Charles the 
Fifth, he wrote as follows : — 

" I have received information as well of the great riclies of that country, as that in the opinion of navi- 
gators there exists a strait leading from that bay, (probably the bay of Honduras) into the opposite sea, which 
is] the thing above all others in this world I am desirous of meeting with, on account of the immense utility 
which I am convinced would result from it, to the advantage of your Imperial Majesty." 

The officer selected by Cortez to effect his purpose, was Don Pedro de Alvarado, whose 
exploits in traversing an imknowu country, in lighting the forces of rebellious chiefs, 
amounting, in one battle, to 232,000 warriors, and in making settlements, are described 
with some minuteness l)y the Spanish chroniclers. 

The first site upon which his cavaliers fixed their longing eyes for a permanent habita- 
tion was the old city of Guatemala, a magnificent valley elevated five or six thousand feet 
above the level of the sea, and lying between two lofty volcanoes ; with a mild and equable 
climate, abounding streams, a vegetation so luxurious and unfading, and with such a prodigal 
opulence of beauty, that they lost all desire of returning to their native land or of advancing 
to further conquests. No wonder that, tired of long and sanguinary wars, and under the 
exhiliration of tliat delightful air, they should forget the sleeping dangers of the vicinity, 
and found a city on the banks of the Rio Pensativo. 

What has followed this invasion is well known. The disappearance or degeneracy of the 
aboriginal races, political misrule and anarchy, and social and moral decline, while the 
material resources of the comitry have remained almost as entirely undeveloped as at the 
time when its tropical beauty called forth the admiration of the ambitious cavaliers of Al- 
varado or Machuca. We trust the people of Central America have reasons for anticipating 
Ijetter results from the enterprize of Col. Kinney. 



CHONTALES— THK DISTRICT KOR THE PROPOSED KINNEY SETTLEMENT. 



The following letter from a citizen of the United States, who has resided for many year? 
in Central America, appeared in the Hew York Herald of September 2d, 1854: 

LrsERTAD, Nicai'agua, July 7, 1854. 

Description of the Department of Chontalea — Incidents of the Trip from Greytoiim — The 
City of Libertad — The Mines, etc. 

You have heard of the department of Chontales, in Nicaragua. It is a portion of the 
republic where there is aljout the average cliance for improvement. Until within some 
eight or ten months, it has been known only as a land of grass — a territory where the 
Indians and half-breeds pasture theu- countless herds. 'The bungo men coming down to 
San Juan del Norte often brought deer skins, and sometimes live specimens of natural 
history — ant-eaters, armadillos, .sloths, <fee. — which they accounted for as having been 
taken in Chantales. We knew, too, that it was a mountainous region, watere<l by many 
streams, and possessing a fine, bracing, healthy climate. In that lotus-enting land of 
grizzly G-reytown, where 

All around the colR^he languid air did swoon. 
Breathing like one that hath a weary dream. 



9 

we oft resolved to visit this fresh, untravelled region. Imagination pictured its broad 
savannahs, its majestic forests, its towering hills, its sequestered Indian villages, its roam- 
ing flocks, its fruits and game. We had sometimes charming visions of a shealing of our 
own, far up on some mountain side, where we could go to sleep at night with the moun- 
tain breeze blowing freshly over us, and' the plaintive notes of the whip-poor-will, or dis- 
tant braying of the jaguars, lulling us off to tranquil dreams, and then to awake in the 
morning, and up with a hearty spring, and find ourselves, like the Nicaragua Transit line 
to California, ahead of the mails — we mean the sun — looking out over a stoi'my prospect 
of crags and hills to the silent, sleeping lake beyond, with Omtepec standing solemnly in 
its midst, like an eternal sentinel, overlooking all the land. Xow into the saddle, lasso in 
hand, and so forth. 

Last fa] i we got a letter from your old correspondent, '■ Ranchero,"' telling us of the 
discovery jf . rich gold mines in this same district. This decided the case ; so some two 
months since, the dry season being fairly set in, we brushed up an old poncho, invested 
seven dollars in a pair of long boots, (all men going to the mines buy a pair of long boots,) 
unslung our hammocks — meaning always, iu this use of the plural, the wi'iter and his in- 
separable friend, L , and took passage on boai'd the steamer Charles Morgan, for 

Castillo Rapids. We had a fine opportunity to survey the river, for we were three days 
in getting to Castillo, whicli is distant from San Juan ninety miles. It must, however, 
be borne iu mind that the river was tlien very low, and having a large quantity of freight 
on board, wo made several stoppages, and, in fact, exchanged boats three times. At this 
point we took a bungo and were five days in getting to our final landing place at iVIuyalles, 
about eighty or ninety miles further, on the eastern shore of Lake Nicaragua. .We stop- 
ped, however, frequently : the brave mariners tying up altogether at night, and going on 
shore to cook and eat twice a day, which performance occupied from two to three hours 
each time. On one occasion we laid over for a day and a half, in a sequestered bay on 
the lake shore. The mariners ate, slept and reposed generally, while the writer and his 
friend wandered off in quest of adventures, and coming suddenly upon the hacienda oi" a 
venerable native, Avere treated with great politeness, and invited to take wine and 
brandy, neither of which ai-ticles, on the writers acceptance of the invitation, could be 
produced. 

At Muyalles we engaged mules to take us to the mines — two to ride upon, one for our 
guide, and one for our luggage — for which we paid foiu- dollars a head, and one dollar for 
the guide. This Muyalles is a cattle hacienda, belonging to Senor Ferrer. It is delight- 
fully situated on the shore of the lake ; a broad, beautiful stream runs through it, taking 
its rise in the mountains, some forty miles back. The thatched cot of the herdsman is 
built upon the bank of this stream, about a mile and a half from its mouth. The ground 
here is level, shaded by broad sycamore and accacias, and covered with a rich crop of grass, 
affording excellent pasturage to cattle during the dry season. At the time of our arrival, 
which was at aliout the hour of seven o'clock, A. M., there were several hundred cows in an 
enclosure hard by, and the milkers were going to and fro with their native buckets hol- 
lowed out of a log, pouring tlie milk into long troughs cut liljewise out of the trunks of 
trees. In the next enclosure were the bleating calves, protesting vehemently against the 
operation. 'We drank about a gallon of milk, foi- which the lierdsman who settled with 
us considered five cents ample reniuneratiou, an<1 we swung off after our guide through 
the forest. There was but little undergrowth, and we trotted briskly along while the 
shade lasted. Delicate footed deer tripped past through the long vistas in the wood, and 
matronly cows stepped quietly out of our path. We saw a troop of peccaries or wild 
hogs steering for the river — saucy-looking chinchillas and ant-eaters skipped along the 

trunks of fallen trees, stopping occasionally to take a fair look at L and myself 

Over head wild turkeys, parrots and macaws chatted and screamed^-^-naonkeys, in groups 
of half a dozen or more, navigated in the same airy regions, pitching in among the birds, 
as it seemed out of pure deviltry, and at long intervals we came upon a sloth hanging to 
the trunk of a tree by one leg, which we could liardly tell from the hanging nest of the 
yellow tailed oriole so common to this countiy. 

But this charming kind of travel ceased when Ave readied the open plain. On emerging 
from the timber land, which remiiuled one, except for the foreign animals and birds, of 
park scenery in the old world, we came upon a burned savannah, with a species of stunted 
tree growing here and there, about the size and shape of the crab apple of the north, and 
almost destitute of foilage. The heat which reflected upon us from the naked earth made 
us believe that beneath the ground we trod was really a sheet of smouldering fire, which 
occasionally sent up its spheres of flame through the craters of the volcanoes about us. 
We hurried over this heated district in the direction of the mountains, and after about 
two hours' travel reached the hacienda of Hato Grande, which, like Muyalles, is a cattlf 
estate, and the property of Senor Ferrer. 

We have given this description of our journey thitherwai'd'because it is by all odds the. 
beat road to take. The bungo-men will try to get rid of you' at San Ubaldo, about fif- 
teen miles further <lown the lake, and consequently that much less distance for them to 



10 

carry you and your luggage. But if you shouldn't get drowned in the surf landing at 
that pomt, you ■will find uo accommodation there, either to remain or proceed, and an 
awful road to travel when you do get started. But this way it is all plain sailing. A good 
landing place at Muyalles, a fine level road to Hato Graud'e, thence 12 miles to "the Indian 
village of Juigalpa, thence 26 miles to this place, Libertad or Liberty city as the Ameri- 
cans term it. At Hato Grande and Juigalpa the traveller can find entertainment for man 
and beast, and every few miles ah)ng the road between these stopping places are Indian 
ranches, where lie can obtain milk, tortillas, a yard or two of beef, and if he be good look- 
ing or have a box or two of remedies, /. <?. Brandreth's or bread pills, he may be invited to 
a lounge in a hammock made of uutanued hide and treated to a drink of chocolate and 
[lounded corn, bj- a draggled tailed Indian girl, whose appearance wiU bring to mind the 
expression of the nursery heroine who went into the garden to cut a cabbage leaf — 
" What, no soap !" 

Do not think the road is all over such a heated surface as we last spoke of. After leav- 
ing Hato Grande you get into the high country. The air here is cool and invigorating. I 
remember well the night before we arrived at Libertad. How cold it was ! We had got 
within ten miles of the town when we came upon a ranche on a fine table land in the 
mountain of Cosmatio. Our party had increased as wo approaclied the mines, and there 
were now some twelve of us. When we got off from our horses and mules, and felt the 
on^^laught of the mountain wind, it chilled us like a blast of winter. We took a drink of 
;igua ardieute all around, and wra])ped ourselves in great coats and blankets and turned in. 
It was no use. Tliere were two old Californians with us, who had come across the country 
from Realejo. They collected wood and we built a great fire, and sat half the night 
crocuhing around it in our shaAvls and bl.-mkets, talking cosiiy of distant places and other 
days. 

When you arrive here you have reached your journey's end. Immediately beyond 
tower the mountain ranges of Tiger and San Juan, rich in gold and silver beyond comparj 
ison, but their sides are covered with thick woods, so that the nmle tlireads his way along 
with difiiculty. But our site is on a broad rolling plain, covered with tempting pasturage, 
and dotted with native ranches — ;just such a ]')lain as Abraham and Lot Avoiild have cov- 
eted, when, very rich in cattle, in silver and gold, they journeyed towards the South. 

Six months ago there was but one house in sight from th o point where I now sit, a native 
Indian ranche. Now lean count over fifty, and sites are already selected f(»r the erection 
of nearly as many more. Six months since the solitary Indian roamed through these 
grassy vales in search of stray cattle, or threaded tiie infrequent paths upon the moun- 
tain sides, tracking the Avild bee, and stopping occasionally to pick from the beds of the 
streamlets a few specks of goM. Now, an active, resident population of some four to five 
hundred individuals gives life and character to the scene. Here are all grades, conditions 
and colors. I write tliis from the hotel of Don Ramon, situate on the hill as you approach 
the town from the lake shore. It is an adobe building, some fifteen by forty feet, one story 
liigh, and contains four rooms. On the same elevation are two other houses already erected 
and two more in the process of erection. Li the vale below, near the base of the Tiger 
Mountain, and about a quarter of a mile distant from Don Ramon's, is the main portion of the 
town. Here are stores, dwelling houses, tipple stands, and gaming saloons. Miners tramp 
to and fro over the green ; rancheroes from other parts are in with mules for sale; native 
women, with water jars or piles of clothing on their heads, go periodically to and from the 
water courses, with the step of an Arab barb; little groups are around tlie doors of the 
liquor shops, and other groups are in the aforesaid gaming saloons. There is great talk 
upon mineralogical subjects, and there is some talk about manifest destiny, and the exten- 
sion of freedom's area, likewise. It is a town such as has often sprung into existence be- 
fore in many a western territory, and in our far west State. It differs from all other towns 
in Nicaragua, in that it has a new and bustling look. Tliere is not much I'egularity in its 
arrangement; it looks sprawling like an infant in its cradle, and that's just what it is. 

The mining business is yet mostly confined to the crushing and amalgamating process ; 
but within a few weeks the native Lidiansare bringing in large quantities of washed gold, 
which they find in the mountain streams. By themining laws of Nicaragua, a foreigner 
can only obtain possession and the privilege of woi'king mines by associathig himself with 
a citizen of that State. Tliere arc many Americans here, notwithstanding. Mr. Fabens, 
the American Coasul at San Juan del Norte, owns four mines in connection with Senor 
Ferrer. These arc all very rich. These gentlemen have likewise a valuable coal mine 
near the shores of the lake. Messrs. Mills and Fannin, two American gentlemen, have also 
some valuable mines here, owned in connection with Padre Sexia Sosa one of those gen- 
erous hearted priests whom Stevens so delighted to eulogize. There are many other Aumt- 
icans who have interests in mines, or who receive ore to crush and wash out upon shares. 
This is now done by hand. As soon as machinery is introduced, and the country projieily 
prospected for placer diggings, I believe it will be found to be second in opulence only to 
California. 

Idler in the South. 



11 ; 



THE NATUEAL EICHES OF CHONTALES. 



The following letter, which is translated from the New York Staats Zeitung of May 
7, 1855, was written by a yoimg German, who has lately explored the district of the pro- 
posed settlement, with the design of ascertaining its resources and capabilities : 

ViEGiN Bay, Nioaeagua, April 20, 1855. 

Myself and friends, who had taken passage on board the steamer Northern Light, left 
New York March 27, and ari-ived on the 5th of April, in the port of San Juan 
del Norte, after a very pleasant trip. We were transferred from our steamer at Punta 
Arenas on board a smaller river steamer, to go up the San Jxian river as far as Fort San 
Oarlos. The water being at this time of the year pretty low, we Avere compelled, partly 
from that reason, and partly to pass around the so-called rapids, to shift frequently, and 
unpleasant as this transhipment was, it proved to me of some advantage, and afford- 
ed a good opportunity to see more of the banks of said river than I otherwise would 
have had. We Avalked short distances and stopped on sundry places along the river to take 
some refreshments, and to converse with the people, who lived apparently in great com- 
fort upon their small haciendas or farms. On enquiry I ascertained, and I was convinced 
by my own investigations, that the country along the river San Juan was very fertile and 
abounded in all kind of rich growing timber, mahogany, cedar, logwood, rosewood, palm 
trees, cocoas and other tropical shruTiberies and valuable cabinet wood. The soil seemed 
to be exceedingly rich, and produced without almost any labor, two harvests and sfome- 
times three of Indian corn and fruits, plantains, <feo. The many beautiful flowers and 
plants, orange trees with their rich, dark green f iolagc, interwoven with vines and flow- 
ers, gave us a magnificently picturesque view, almost too beautiful to describe. 

It was with reluctance I embarked for Central America on account of the many un- 
favorable reports put in circulation about the climate, wild beasts, reptiles and the aver- 
sion of the inhabitants towards foreign irnmigration. But how agreeably was I disappoint- 
ed : instead of a hot, feverish atmosphere, I found the air to be very salubrious, and the 
heat not greater than in May or June in New York. As for Avild beasts, I have seen none ; 
and as for the people that live here, why if every body is like my landlord, a Spainard 
or Creole, I could not find a better and kinder set of men all over the world. They like 
Germans exceedingly well, and are anxious that their beautiful country should be settled 
by a better race than the present mixed population of blacks, Indians, mulattoes, Ac, I 
am employed as house-carpenter by a gentleman, who|_is connected with the Transit Com- 
pany, to build barns and out-houses, and Avhen I tell you, that I am able to work, even 
here, near the Pacific Ocean, between lake Nicaragua and San Juan del Sur from morning 
6 o'clock till evening at 6 o'clock, why the climate cannot be unhealthy. I receive fifty 
dollars wages per mouth, boarding and lodging free. This, I think, is rather better than 
people have to expect in the United States at present, and my fare is not like the fare in 
New York, but it is plenty of everything. Chocolate, tortillas, trigoles and sweetmeats 
for breakfast ; soup, roasted or boiled meat, and chocolate, cakes and fruits for dinner ; and 
eggs, chocolate, cakes, etc., for tea. This is certainly enough, and more than we get in the 
United States for our meals in boarding houses. 

Through the kindness of my employer, and those with whom he is associated, I have 
received all kind of information concerning the proposed settlement in Nicaragua. It is 
the opinion of every intelligent and well informed man here that, rich as this country is 
in everything, its resources Avill never be developed by the present inhabitants ; and it is 
to an emigration from the United States and Europe they look for the improvement of 
their country. 

If we take into consideration the richness of the soil, a forest full of all kinds of valu- 
able cabinet woods, dye woods and medical plants, not to mention the hidden treasures of 
the mineral kingdom, and the little labor that is required to use all these to the advantage 
of a practical farmer, why, it is almost impossible to believe that this portion of Central 
America has not drawn already alarge immigration and speculating men to amass wealth. 
Amongst other tropical fruits which grow here without any cultivation, I could say wild, 
there is sugar, coffee, cacao, rice, tobacco, plantains, banannas, pine- apples, sweet potatoes, 
Indian corn, and all kinds of vegetables for use in the house and kitchen. As I have al- 
ready stated, Indian corn yields from two to three crops per year, and this, in connection 
with a plantain patch, is sufficient to produce almost everything for a family. 

With about a hundred dollars expenses, you can start a plantain field of about eight hun- 
dred plants, which will last for at least seventy years without being,replanted. Pigs, chick- 
and other domestic animals are in abundance. 



12 

You are aware of the fact that -we have here no winter, but only a so-called rainy sea- 
son ; consequently all labor that is I'cquired in the north of the United States to lay 
in stores for man and beast for the winter is unnecessary. Consequently it requires but 
little capital to begin with: but should a man haVe some cash, to emj^loy the natives either 
for raising coffee, cacao or sugar cane, it would be so much the better, and in five years he 
■would be a rich, independent man. 

As there are, at present, no proper accommodations for families, at lea-st not in the coim- 
try, it would be advisable to send out only young men, either mechanics or farmers or 
such as are willing to use the axe and the hoe ; masons, carpenters, housebuilders, brick- 
layers, smiths, and such as understand mining, are welcome. I would not advise them to 
bring right away their wives and children along, although a few women for washing and 
house-keeping would not be amiss. But let these pioneers come out single, clear the coun- 
try, cultivate the ground, build houses, and then send for thek families ; and letthein bi-ingf 
«ome arms, say rifles, guns, etc., for hunting and defence. 

Some large tracts of lands are most beautifully adapted for raising live stock, others 
again for agricultural and mining piirposes : amongst the latter, I will only mention the 
gold and silver mines of Chontales, which are represented to be vei-y rich. 

I think it will be a good speculation to cut mahogany and other cabinet wood, for 
which there is a ready market m Europe. 

In my opinion, the country between the Atlantic ocean, along the river San Juan and 
the lake Nicaragua is better adapted for agricultural purposes than the small isthmus 
between the lake and the Pacific ocean. For there, near the Atlantic side, everything was 
green and had a cheerful look, while here it is barren and diy ; but that may be different 
at other seasons. Howevei', the eastern slope has the advantage of better water commu- 
nication with the Atlantic ocean, and, as such, is preferable to a settlement on the western 
coast. 

This much I know, there is a chance for making money, and I invite everybody to try, 
like myself, his fortune, and he will find it to his advantage. I am anxiously waiting to 
hear from you, that your friends, with the new colonists, have started, as I would like to 
join them again ; I feel rather lonesome, because I cannot speak Spanish. I trust to hear 
soon agreeable news from you, and shall give you, from time to time, information about 
this country. 

Your affectionate Nephew, 

"W. SOHULZ. 

To G. E. SoHULz, 

Oornex Reade and West street^, New York City. 



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